Your home maintenance calendar

Thursday

Mar 24, 2011 at 12:01 AMMar 24, 2011 at 9:59 AM

Every home has things that should be done on a regular basis to prevent problems — and there are some big-ticket items you can plan on needing to replace every so often just because they have a limited lifespan. Follow our home maintenance calendar to keep your house in shape and plan for predictable expenses.

Erik Gable

Every home has things that should be done on a regular basis to prevent problems — and there are some big-ticket items you can plan on needing to replace every so often just because they have a limited lifespan. Follow our home maintenance calendar to keep your house in shape and plan for predictable expenses.

Twice a year

Every six months, you should change the batteries in your smoke alarm, said Paul Trinka, fire chief in Adrian, Mich. The recommended way to remember is to change the batteries when daylight saving time begins or ends.

If you have a fire extinguisher with a pressure gauge, check the gauge to make sure the powder inside hasn’t settled too much. The powder can compress with time, hampering the extinguisher’s effectiveness. To loosen settled powder, just tip the extinguisher upside down.

Twice a year is also a good schedule for checking the batteries in carbon monoxide detectors, Trinka said.

On the home maintenance front, you should clean your gutters twice a year, said Dave Newland, one of the owners of The House Fixers in Adrian, Mich.

“Once a year is not good enough,” Newland said. Gutters can easily become clogged, contributing to ice dams on your roof, which can lead to damage. And ice collecting inside your gutter can even tear the gutter off of your house.

Once a year

As winter nears, Trinka said, you should check around your furnace and water heater to make sure no boxes or other potentially flammable items are stored close by.

Also in the fall, you should check the caulking around your windows and doors, Newland said. Look for cracked or missing caulk, and make sure your windows can close and lock.

You should also have your furnace checked and serviced once a year, Newland said — as well as central air conditioning if you have it.

Cleaning your dryer vent is another important annual task, Newland said. Get a lint brush — a round brush attached to a long wire handle — and clean out the inside of the tube, because your dryer’s lint trap doesn’t catch everything.

“Lint’s real flammable, and it doesn’t take much to light it up,” Newland said.

Once a year, you should also pull the cover off of your bathroom fan and vacuum out the dust. That will keep the fan in good working condition longer.

Every two years

Newland recommends having a professional check your roof every other year.

“Shingles are made to have water run on them, not to have people walk on them,” Newland said. A professional will know how to walk on your roof without damaging it.

Things to look for include loose, missing or damaged shingles.

Every four years

You should have your heat ducts cleaned every four years to remove dust, mildew and so forth, Newland said. This will lead to cleaner air in your home.

Every 5-10 years

You can expect to recaulk your windows and doors about once every five years, Newland said. Although caulking often lists a much longer maximum life, he said, that’s under ideal conditions.

The weather stripping around your doors will probably need to be replaced every seven or eight years.

“That takes a lot of abuse,” Newland said.

Every 10-15 years

Water heaters typically have a 10-year to 15-year lifespan, Newland said, depending on the water quality where you live. That means if your water heater is nearing the end of this time frame, you can expect to replace it in the relatively near future. It’s probably a good idea to plan ahead so you have the money available when it happens.

Entry doors usually have a lifespan of 15 years at the most, Newland said.

About once every 10 years, Newland said, you’ll probably need to replace your bathroom vent fan.

“They get worn out,” he said.

Every 15-20 years

If you have a masonry chimney that your furnace and water heater run through, the concrete cap on top of the chimney will probably need to be replaced every 15-20 years, Newland said.